Friction absorbing device



Dec. 29, 1942. D. M. LIGH? FRI CTION ABSORBING DEVICE Filed Feb. 24, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 80 INVENTOR.

BY Baum OMM ATTORNEY.

4 Dec. 29, 1942. D. M, LjGHT 2,306,393

FRICTION ABSORBING DEVICE Filed Feb. 24, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Dal/4031 Z @1 32? BYW ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 29. 1942- FRICTION Ansomsnvcnmcn David M. Light, .0hicago, IlL, assignor to American Steel Foundries, Chicago, 111., a corporation of New Jersey Application February 24, 1940, Serial No. 320,612

18 Claims.

My invention relates to friction absorbing devices and more particularly to a snubbing device which is adapted to replace a coil spring such as used in a railway car truck to support a load carrying member.

My invention comprehends a snubbing device of simple construction in which a minimum of parts are used.

An object of my invention is to design a friction absorbing device comprising a top follower having a casing with heavy friction walls adjacent its open end, a bottom follower extending therewithin in telescopic relationship therewith for frictional engagement, and a member of resilient material compressed between said followers.

Another object of my invention is to provide a snubbing device having a bottom follower composed of a plurality of segments which may be urged radially outward by a resilient member into frictional engagement with a top follower.

A difierent object of my invention is to design a snubbing device in which interlocking means .are provided between top and bottom followers which are arranged in telescopic relationship.

My invention also contemplates a snubblngdevice wherein a member of resilient material is compressed between a top follower comprising a plurality of segments and a bottom follower having a barrel with internal tapering friction surfaces, said resilient member urging said segments into frictional engagement with said bottom follower.

My invention further contemplates an arrangement wherein one of the followers comprises a compression spring secured to a base in any suitable manner and having a polygonal bar section, one of the sides of the polygon having frictional engagement with a top follower. In this modification, the spring replaces the cylindrical solid wall of the other modifications, thus forming a resilient cylindrical wall.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of one embodiment of my invention, partly in section, the section being taken substantially in a vertical plane bisecting the device as indicated by line l-l of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of my invention shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the device shown in Figure l, the section being taken substantially in the horizontal plane indicated by line 33 of e 1.- Figure 4 is a side elevation of a different modification of my invention, partly in section, the section being taken substantially in a vertical plane bis'ecting the device as indicated by the line H of Figure 5.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the device shown in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a sectional view of the device shown in Figure 4, the section being taken substantially in the horizontal plane indicated by line 8-8 of Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the device showing another modification of my invention, the section being takensubstantially in the same plane as that indicated by line 4-4 of Figure 5.

Describing first the modification shown in Figures 1 to 3, my invention comprises a simple arrangement of a snubbing device generally indicated at 2 and which comprises a top follower 4, a bottom follower 6, and a member 8 of resillent material seated on a positioning member I0 and compressed between said top and bottom followers.

The top follower 4 comprises a circular base l2 having a substantially flat outer surface I 6 which may be interrupted centrally thereof by the recess or opening IE to provide positioning means for said device in well-known manner. A boss 20 may be centrally formed on the inner surface of said base I2 to afford positioning means for the resilient member 8 as at 22. The said inner surface tapers radially outwardly away from said boss as at 24, thus forming a heavy section of metal surrounding said boss for strengthening the base l2 and affording a smooth surface along which the resilient member 8 may flow when compressed, thus avoiding abrasion. Integrally formed with said base l2 may be the cylindrical casing or housing 26, the walls of said casing being of heavy thick section of metal as at 28 adjacent its open end. Said heavy section of metal affords frictional surfaces 30, 30 within said casing for frictional engagement with complementary arcuate faces 32, 32 on said bottom follower 8.

The bottom follower 6 comprises a plurality of segments 84, 3|, each segment 34 having a base 36 and integrally formed therewith an arcuate wall 38 extending within said housing 26. The outer face of said wall 38 provides the friction face 32 which engages with the friction surface 30 as aforedescribed, and adjacent the base said outer face may be relieved as at 40 to prevent the formation of a ridge of metal due to frictional wear. Each wall 38 has a top flange 42 which overlaps the annular shelf 44 formed within said in their-proper arrangement during operation,

and prevents extrusion of the resilient member between the segments during compression.

' The resilient member 8 is positioned on the inner surface of the top follower as aforedescribed and tapers downwardly and outwardly therefrom as at 04 for abutment as at against inner circumferential areas of the bottom follower0. Said resilient member may be also tapered downwardly and inwardly as at 08 and may be provided with a seat as at 00 on the positioning member I0, said positioning member having a centrally formed boss 02 serving as lower positioning means for said resilient member. 7

Said positioning member I0 comprises a single circular member which overlies the bases 30, 30 of the segments 34, 34 and may be seated thereon as at 04. The bottom face of said positioning member may be centrally recessed as at 00 in alignment with the opening 88 centrally formed in the substantially flat outer face 08 of said bottom follower, thus serving as lower positioning means for said device.

The resilient member 8 may be placed under initial compression as indicated by the protrusion thereof between the segments 38, as at I0 (Figure 3), and as load is applied, the resilient material may flow into .the spaces afforded between the followers and the tapered portions of said member. When the device is placed under load, the top follower moves downwardly, further compressing the resilient member 8 which urges the arcuate segments of the bottom follower radially outward into frictional engagement with the inner friction surfaces on the top follower.

In the modification shown in Figures 4 to 6, the bottom follower 80 comprises a circular base 82 having a substantially flat outer surface 04 in which may be centrally formed a recess 06. Centrally formed on theinner surface of said base may be a large circular boss or stud 88 which affords a seat for the resilient member 90 as at 02. Integrally formed on said base may be the barrel or cylindrical housing 94 which may be formed with internal friction faces 98, 80 adjacent its open end and tapering downwardly and inwardly therefrom. Y

The top follower 88 comprises a plurality of segments I00, I00, each segment I00 having an upper base portion IOI and'a heavyarcuate wall I03 integrally formed therewith and extending downwardly between the resilient member 00 and the housing 34. Each arcuate wall I03 may be provided with an outer arcuate surface I02 which frictionally engages as at I00 with the complementary tapering friction face 00 on said housing 04. Each wall I03 is wedge shape in section,

the inner face thereof forming a' smooth surface along which the resilient member so may flow in operation. Adjacent the upper portion of each wall I03, said friction faces I02, I02 may be relieved as at I04 affording a recess for frictional wear. When assembled the upper base portions IOI, IIII form a seat for one end of the device, said seat having a substantially flat outer surface I00 interrupted centrally by the recess I08 which may serve as positioning means. Around the outer circumference of said base portions IOI, III may be formed an annular flange I I0, and around the inner circumference of said base may be formed an inner annular flange II2. A circular disk II4 underlies said inner annular flange H2 and affords a seat for the resilient member 00 as at H0.

The member 00 may be formed of any suit- .able resilient material, and adjacent its top it may be provided with an annular flange II8 which may be received in an annular recess I20 formed around the inner circumference of the top follower, thus adording upper positioning means for said resilient member. Adjacent the annular flange II8, said resilient member may have abutment against inner circumferential areas of'said top follower 98 as at I22 and may then taper downwardly and inwardly as at I24 and seat as aforedescribed on the base 82 of the bottom follower. Imbedded or vulcanized in the lower portion of said resilient member may be a bolt I24 which extends through the base 02 for threaded engagement with a securing nut It may be noted from Figures 5 and 6 that each segment I00 maybe formed at one edge with an outer vertical flange I28 which overlaps as at I30 with an inner vertical flange I32 provided on the corresponding opposite edge of an adjacent segment, thus permitting the' sliding movement between said segments necessitated by the -tapering form of their engagement with the barrel 94, while preventing extrusion of the resilient member therebetween.

7 As load is applied to my novel snubbing device,- the top follower moves downwardly and compresses the resilient member 00 which urges the arcuate segments of the top follower radially outwardly into frictional engagement with the housing 04 of the bottom follower. As said resilient member is compressed between the top and bottom followers, the resilient material may flow radially outward into the spaces afforded between said resilient member and said arcuate walls I03; I03 and abut said arcuate walls.

In the modification shown in Figure 7, the arrangement'of the top follower and the resilient member corresponds generally to that modification previously shown and described in Figures 4 to 6. This modification differs from the foregoing modiflcations in that vthe bottom follower generally indicated at I00 comprises a base portion I02 and a compression spring I04 secured thereto in any convenient manner, shown here as by a press fit as at I00. Said base I02 includes a circular portion I08 which may be received within said spring and which aifordsa seat on its inner surface for the resilient member I00 as at I02, said resilient member being positioned thereon by a lug I04 centrally formed on the circular portion I08. Around the outer circumferential edges of said base I02 may be formed an'annular flange I00-which affords a seat forthe coil spring I04-as at I08.

' The coil spring I04 may be formed of bar stock having a polygonal cross-section shown here for convenience as octsgonaL. The inner circumferential areas of said spring include one of the sides of theoctagon andfrictionally engages as at I12 the arcuatefaces I10, III of the segments of the top follower I'll. The top follower I'll may be formed with an annular flange I16 affording as at I" an upper seat for the coil spring.

'In this modification the coil spring I acts as a part of the bottom follower and may be welded to the base portion of the follower when desirable. The spring thus forms a kind of resilient housing with which the segments of the top follower have frictional engagement.

In operation, the top follower moves downwardly compressing the coil spring and the resilient member I60 and urging the segments of the top follower radially outward into frictional engagement with the inner circumferential areas of the coil spring I.

While I have described the various modifications as comprising top and bottom followers to conform to the showing in the drawings, nevertheless the functional operation of the devices is in each case the same regardless of which end may be uppermost and in actual use either end may be placed uppermost.

It is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited by the exact embodiments of the device shown which are merely by way of illustration and not limitation as various and other forms of the device will, of course, be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a friction device, end followers, one presenting an internal friction surface, and the other comprising a plurality of elements in enagement with said surface, a resilient member in abutment with both followers, and transverse positioning means on said resilient member accommodated by complementary means on each element.

2. In a friction absorbing device, a follower comprising an internal friction surface, another follower consisting of friction segments in engagement with said surface, a positioning member supported by said last-mentioned follower,

, a resilient member under compression between said positioning member, said first-mentioned follower, and said segments, an opening in said segmental follower, and a recess in said positioning member aligned with said opening, said recess and said opening affording positioning means for the device.

3. In a friction absorbing device, a follower comprising an internal friction surface, a segmental follower comprising friction segments in engagement with said surface, a positioning member supported by said last-mentioned follower, a resilient member under compression between said first-mentioned follower, said segments, and said positioning member, and aligned means on said segmental follower and said positioning member for cooperation with positioning means on a supporting or supported member, said segments comprising base portions affording a seat for the device.

4. In a friction absorbing device, end followers, one of which comprises a barrel portion having internal tapering friction faces and the other of which includes a plurality of segments having friction surfaces in engagement with said faces,

and a block of resilient material interlocked with each of said followers and operable to urge said ments to permit radial movement of said segments as said device is compressed.

5. In a friction absorbing device, a pair of followers in telescopic frictional engagement with each other, a positioning member supported on one of said followers, means on said member and said follower adapted for cooperation with positioning means on anassociated supporting or supported member, and resilient means under compression by and between said positioning member and said followers.

6. In a friction absorbing device, a top follower comprising an internal friction face, a bottom follower consisting of a plurality of segments in engagement with said face, a base portion on each segment affording a seat for said device, a

segments into frictional engagement with said faces, each of said segments having vertical overlapping relationship with the adjacent segspring seat positioned on said base portions, and. a resilient member compressed by and between said top follower, said segments, and said seat,

said seat comprising projecting means recessed in said resilient member. 1

7. ma friction absorbing device, a top follower having a casing with internal friction walls, a bottom follower telescoped within said casing and comprising laterally overlapping segments with complementary faces engaging said walls, a circular member overlying the base portions of said segments, and a block of resilient material positioned on said member and abutting said segments and said top follower.

8. In a friction absorbing device, end followers, one of said followers comprising a cylindrical portion with an internal friction surface and the other of said followers comprising a plurality of arcuate segments each presenting a friction face in engagement with a portion of said surface and having edges overlapping the edges of adjacent segments, and a single resilient member in compression between said followers and operative to urge said segments into engagement with said surface.

9. In a friction absorbing device, top and bottom followers, one having a cylindrical portion presenting internal tapering friction faces and the other comprising a plurality of radially overlapping arcuate segments with external friction surfaces in complementary engagement with said faces, and a resilient member compressed between said followers and operative to urge said segments against said faces.

10. In a friction absorbing device, top and bot-- tom followers, one presenting a friction barrel with internal tapering friction faces and the other comprising three arcuate segments with overlapping vertical edges, said segments having complementary friction surfaces in engagement with said faces, and a resilient member compressed between said followers and operative to urge said segments into frictional engagement against said faces.

11. In a friction absorbing device, end followers, one of which comprises a barrel portion having internal tapering friction faces and the other of which includes a plurality of segments having friction surfaces in engagement with said faces, and a block of resilient material interlocked with one of said followers and having transverse annular means engaging complementary means on the other of said followers, said block being operable to urge said segments into frictional engagement with said faces.

12. In afriction absorbing device, top and bottom followers, one of said followers having a cylindrical portion with internal friction faces and the other of said followers comprising a plurality of overlapping arcuate segments, and a resilient member compressed between said followers and operative to urge said segments into frictional engagement with said faces.

13. In a friction absorbing device, end followers arranged in telescopic relationship, one of said followers comprising a plurality of segments with radially overlapping edges, and resilient means compressed between said'followers and urging said segments radially outward for frictional engagement with the other of said followers. j

14. In a friction device, end followers, one of said followers presenting a friction surface and the other comprising a plurality of segments each having an arcuate recess adjacent to its base, and a resilient member adapted to be compressed by said followers for urging said segments into tight frictional engagement with said surface, said member having an annular flange accommodated within said recesses.

15. In a friction device, end followers, one presenting an internal friction surface and the other comprising a plurality of elements with radially-overlapping edges, each element including a base portion and having a friction face engaging said surface, a member seated against said base portions, a resilient member abutting said member and said followers and compressible for urging said faces into tight engagement with said surface, and transverse positioning means on said resilient member accommodated within means on eachelement.

16. In 'afriction device, a follower presenting internal friction surfaces, a plurality of elements each having a base and a face engaging the respective friction surface, said bases affording a seat for said device, a member seated against said bases, and a tapered rubber block positioned on said member and said follower and abutting each element, said rubber block being compressible between said member, said elements, and

said followers for urging said elements into tight frictional engagement with said follower.

17. In a friction device, a follower presenting friction surfaces, and a plurality of elements each having a wall presenting a face for engagement with the respective friction surface, a resilient member abutting eachwall and compressible along its longitudinal axis upon relative movement of said follower and said elements for urging said faces into tight frictional engagement with the respective surfaces, and radial overlapping means on said walls for substan- 'tiall'y preventing abrasion of said resilient memher during operation.

18. In a friction device, a follower presenting friction surfaces, and' a plurality of elements each having a wall presenting a face for engagement with the respective friction surface, a resilient member abutting each wall and compressible .along its longitudinal axis upon relative movement of said follower and said elements for urging said faces into tight frictional engagement with the respective surfaces, radial overlapping means on said walls for substantial-' 1y preventing abrasion of said resilient member during operation, and interengaging means on said elements and said follower for maintaining said device in assembled relationship.

DAVID M. from. 

